I talked a lot of skepticism prior to this coming out. I was mistaken. I love this soundtrack. Don't go in expecting anything like the previous Xenoblade, though, because you'll be upset. This is very different, and (IMO) pretty unforgettable music.

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For those unaware, the composer to XenobladeX is the same fella who did the soundtrack for ATTACK ON TITAN. So if you've seen that anime and enjoyed what you heard ... you'll probably dig this as well.

My feeling is that Tetsuya Takahashi is intentional about seeking out different talent for different projects to suit their world/environment. Mitsuda was great, and so was Kajiura, and so was the ACE team and Shimomura. So I'm not surprised that Sawano is rockin' it as well. :)

Yeah, you're both right. Takahashi is a big fan of Sawano and specifically asked for him to score X. If you like what you hear and want to check out more of Sawano's work, I'd recommend Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Guilty Crown, in addition to the aforementioned Attack on Titan and Kill la Kill.

If you can track down his solo album "musica," that is also excellent, although it's primarily vocal tracks. Melancholia, a song on Xeno X was actually originally featured on musica first, which is especially interesting considering it came out in 2009.

I think in the end my view is in line with yours Lard, with one key difference: I'm not disappointed.

I think all of these critiques are on point:- latter discs are better than former- general lack of variety in musical style and instrumentation- NLA Shigai is *awesome*

I can get with all that.

But I can't call it a disappointment. Maybe over time I'll rank it lower than prior Xeno-soundtracks. But right now, for me, it's on par w/ Xenosaga I and it beats Xenosaga II. Compared to the original Xenoblade ... I don't know what to say yet. TBH I wasn't an enormous fan of the first Xenoblade soundtrack. Which ... I know, what's wrong with me ... haha. :)

I have only gotten through about 10 tracks but I am really liking this music. It's not what I expected from a Xenoblade soundtrack but more like I would expect from a Xenosaga soundtrack but I guess that's to be expected with the more sci-fi elements in this game. I really enjoy Sawano's work on Attack of Titan and this just solidifies him as one of my favorite composer's (as if I don't have enough already). Well I'm going back to listen to more now =)

I don't know how I feel about all of the piano tracks being at the end of the album but the variety is what makes this album much stronger than the first (I like electronica so I could be biased). This was probably the most unique VG ost I've heard in a long time.

As for comparisons, it absolutely makes sense. Same developers, same bloody game name.

I tend to agree here. Takahashi and crew may have made an intentional choice to switch composers, but we can see the visual style from Xenoblade to XenobladeX wasn't a drastic shift (compared to, say, the CG character art change from Xenosaga 1 to Xenosaga 2). The musical shift was drastic, and I think fans who complain and/or are frustrated by it have a valid point. Even if I like Sawano's music, which I do, I still won't know what I think of it in context of the game until I play the game myself. :)